Jonas Brothers—Only Human
Chicago—Make Me Smile
Mary Hopkin—Those Were The Days My Friend
Jack Jones—A Day In The Life Of A Fool
Bread—It Don’t Matter To Me
Billy Paul—Me and Mrs. Jones
Leslie Gore—You Don’t Own Me
Buffy St. Marie—Universal Soldier
Tommy Edwards—It’s All In The Game
Judy Collins—I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
Nina Simone—Forbidden Fruit
Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem—Whistling Gypsy
America—A Horse With No Name
Dave Clark Five—Because
King Harvest—Dancing In the Moonlight
Syd Barrett—Opel
The Jonas Brothers were a young band fashionable to hate (3 NME Worst Band awards (2009, 2010, 2011), who are now in their 30s—Joe has married a British actress taller than he is and Nick, who made the catchy hit, “Jealous” as a solo artist in 2014, has married a super star Indian actress ten years his senior. “Only Human” was the third single released from their 2019 comeback album. Syd Barrett, in his early 20s, was the writer and singer for Pink Floyd. Barrett imploded (drugs) when he was 22 and “Opel” is a solo effort—he quit the music business for good at 25 and lived as a recluse until his death at 60, even as he was a song subject of Pink Floyd’s successful work. It’s bruised genius vs reggae studio talent. Tortured genius wins. The 16th seed upsets and advances.
A notable contest in this bracket is “A Horse With No Name” against “A Day In the Life of a Fool:” One of the greatest standards of all time, delivered ably by Jack Jones, against a layered track by America—does “horse” mean heroin here? “A Horse With No Name” is one of the greatest “highs” I know—is listening to this what being on heroin is like? Of course we mean a good hi-fi listen, not a sound coming out of a cheap speaker.
“A Day In the Life of a Fool” wins a close one. This will be a disappointing result to many. Which song is more enjoyable to listen to? Shouldn’t that be the test? But that brings up the issue—are some songs only enjoyable in terms of sound-experience (great speakers)? What of the purely lovely song?
The other winners are:
Chicago (2nd seed) beats King Harvest and the pretty (but not pretty enough) “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
3rd seed “Those Were the Days” (nostalgia) defeats the dreamy “Because” (romance) of the Dave Clark Five.
Bread (5 seed) triumphs with its sweet, uncanny, melancholy, irony over the rousing “Whistling Gypsy” by the Clany Brothers. Ooof. Tough loss for folk authenticity.
“Me and Mrs. Jones” (6th seed) features one of the greatest atmospheric studio arrangements in pop music history. Never mind what the song is about—listen to the texture! The Billy Paul song wins and the unfortunate victim is a neglected but fantastic number by Nina Simone—the delirious “Forbidden Fruit.” Nina Simone, by the way, won last year’s March Madness—with two songs from her great 1961 album “Forbidden Fruit.”
“I Think It’s Going To Rain Today” (10th seed) is from “In My Life,” a 1966 record by Judy Collins—this is, again, a case where a studio arrangement takes a beautiful song to another level. Only a recording this marvelous could possibly succeed against Leslie Gore’s fabulous 1963 hit, “You Don’t Own Me.”
And finally, “It’s All In The Game” (the 9th seed) wins in a slight upset over Buffy St. Marie’s “Universal Soldier.” She has a voice which can cut you in half. And her song (she wrote it and it was covered by Donovan) is an anti-war stunner. The Tommy Edwards song just happens to be one of the greatest pop tunes ever recorded.
Next, the Winfield Scott bracket. The no. 1 seed there is “Who’s That Lady?” by the Isley Brothers.
